17th Infantry Division "Pavia" (Italian: 17° Divisione Autotrasportabile "Pavia") was an auto-transportable InfantryDivision[nb 1] of the Italian Army during World War II. The Pavia was formed in October 1939 and sent to Libya. It was never completely motorised as a formation. It was almost destroyed during the Second Battle of El Alamein.[2] The Pavia was classified as an auto-transportable division, meaning staff and equipment could be transported on cars and trucks, although not simultaneously.

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The Pavia Brigade originated during the Risorgimento on 1 March 1860, and was formed of two Infantry Regiments (the 27th and 28th). The Brigade participated in the Third Italian Independence War (1866), the First Italo-Ethiopian War (1896) and the First World War, when it was awarded the Ordine Militare d'Italia. In 1926 it become the XVII Pavia Infantry Brigade and in August 1939 was transformed into the 17th Pavia Division (reinforced with the 26th Artillery Regiment Artiglieria a Cavallo). Until 1939, the headquarters of the Division were in Ravenna, while the 27th Regiment had its barracks in Cesena. In 1940 the Division was deployed in Tripolitania and fought until November 1942, when it has surrendered near the El Alamein. After the Second World War the 28th Infantry Regiment Pavia was reorganized with its headquarters in Pesaro. The Regiment is still in existence and is now specialized in PsyOps.

The Pavia division was originally deployed 10 June 1940 on the Tunisian-Libian border and stayed on the same positions until 25 June 1940, when it was ordered to move to the Tripoli, Libia to perform the coastal defence in the Sabratha-Surman sector.[3] By March, 1941, it was transferred closer to the Benghazi to participate in the Axis counter-attack of March–April 1941. Under Major-General Pietro Zaglio it attacked via the Balbia coast road from Ajdabiya on 31 March 1941, driving the Australian rearguards back to Mechili; on the 6th the town was surrounded. The "Fabris" and "Montemurro" Bersaglieri Motorised Battalions came up in support, along with the advance elements of the German 5th Light Division. On 8 April General Michael Gambier-Perry surrendered to Axis forces. In the aftermath of the counter-attack, the elements of the Pavia division were placed in Sirte area to defend an airfield near the Wādī Thāmit. The bulk of forces has continued an advance to reach the Derna, Libya and Martuba by 22 May 1941. In June, 1941, it started to participate in the Siege of Tobruk, and was involved in often intense action from highly aggressive Australian probing attacks.

On 19 November 1941 a British column of tanks tried to move westwards towards the track that ran up from Bi’r al Ghabī to Al Adm, but encountered infantry of the Pavia Division and were forced to turn back.[4] 23 November 1941, the British 70th Infantry Division, supported by 60 tanks[5] broke through part of the nearby 25 Semi-Motorised Division Bologna. The Pavia containing the enemy breakthrough. However, on the 27th, the 19th Battalion spearheading the 6th New Zealand Brigade, finally linked up with part of the British 70th Division at El Duda.,[6] weakening the position of Pavia division. Further British attacks were launched on the positions of the Pavia division 3–4 December 1941. On the 4 December, Rommel ordered a withdrawal to the Gazala Line which entailed giving up Tobruk. During the withdrawal, the Pavia served as a rearguard at El Adem where the Pavia managed a brief but competent defence.[7] The heavy rearguard action has continued from 7 December 1941, until 16 December 1941. The Pavia division rearguard was annihilated 14 December 1941, when the New Zealand 22 Battalion encountered weak resistance from the Pavia Division, apart from two brief counterattacks, and under the cover of darkness took the rearguard position and 382 Italian prisoners at a cost of 3 killed and 27 wounded.[8] On 15 December, the bulk of the Pavia on the Gazala Line fought against the attacking 2nd New Zealand Division and Independent Polish Brigade, managing to hold their lines after a poor initial beginning (with the loss of some hundreds taken prisoner),[9] allowing a strong German armoured force to counterattack and overrun the 1st Battalion, The Buffs, (Royal East Kent Regiment).[10]

From this point, retreat of the Pavia division has become faster. 17 December 1941, it fought at Timimi 70 km west of Tobruk, then on the Mechili-Derna, Libya line. The retreat route has passed through the Marj, Benghazi, Ajdabiya, finally reaching El Agheila 24 December, from south-west of which it began to fortify at Bir es Suera on the southern bank of Al Wādī al Fārigh. At this point, the British advance was halted due logistics problems following a rapid advance, giving the Pavia division a quiet time.

The Pavia division has started to advance gradually from late January, 1942, reaching the initial positions west of Tobruk 26 May 1942. 28–29 May 1942, it helped to encircle residual British forces at Tobruk and `Ayn al Ghazālah. During the Battle of Gazala, the Pavia were used in a mopping up role, taking charge of 6,000 Allied prisoners on 16 June 1942.[11] 27 June 1942, it reached Bardīyah and continued to advance for Al Sellum and ultimately Sidi Barrani. 1 July 1942, the Pavia division has reached the Dayr al Abyaḑ, south of El Alamein. The division was the part the First battle of El Alamein as part of the Italian X Corps. During the initial phase of the fighting Pavia served as a rearguard for the 132nd Armoured Division Ariete where it had an isolated, limited defensive success.[12] A few elements of the Pavia along with the Brescia put up a stubborn defence on Ruweisat Ridge on the night of 14–15 July,[13] allowing a German armoured force to arrive in time the next day to deliver a counterattack against the attacking New Zealand infantry and British armour.[14] Captain Amalio Stagni and Corporal Ugo Vaia of the Pavia would each win the Medaglia d'Argento al Valore Militare for their leadership during the action on Ruweisat Ridge. The advance when stalled until 30 August 1942, but attempts to advance were largely beaten back as the Italian supplies has dwindled.

During the Second Battle of El Alamein, one battalion of the Pavia Division fought alongside the Folgore Parachute Division. It has commenced an attack 24 October 1942, on Qārat al Ḩumaymāt, taking over Naqb al Ralah over the steep El Diffa plateau edge, but failed to hold the majority of the plateau positions after the Allied counter-attack. The British attacks intensified and 3 November 1942, the Pavia division was ordered to retreat from the plateau to the Qattara Depression. At the end of the battle, the Pavia along with the other two divisions of the Italian X Corps were abandoned without transport (mostly useless anyway because of the harsh landscape on the division retreat route) by the rest of the Axis forces as they retreated from El Alamein to Fūkah and Mersa Matruh on 4 November 1942. The Pavia division has tried to follow the suit, but lost its rearguard at Deir el Nuss to the Allied armoured units. As the result, the Pavia division has suffered heavy losses while on march to the Fūkah. At Mersa Matruh, where several of the survivors of the Pavia had regrouped, including its commander, the remnants of the division had no option but to surrender 7 November 1942.[15] The Pavia division was officially dissolved 25 November 1942.

^In the Royal Italian Army "Autotrasportabile" ("Truck Moveable" in english) meant that a division could be moved by truck by virtue of its organisation, but that it did not have the transport capacity as part of its own structure to do so, i.e. it would depend on transport being made available to it by higher headquarters to be moved by truck.

^An Italian North African Infantry Division of the 1940 structure normally consisted of two Infantry Regiments (three Battalions, one mortar, one 65mm gun company each), an Artillery Regiment with one heavy and two light battalions and an anti-aircraft battery, a light tank Battalion with 46 tankettes, an Anti Tank Company, a reserve and a machine-gun battalion. Each Division had 10,978 men if at full strength. In 1942 the North African divisions were reorganised on a much smaller scale.[1]

^Combat: The War with Germany, World War II, By Don Congdon, Page 131, Dell Pub. Co., 1963

^"The operation proceeded without opposition until the 1/Durham Light Infantry had advanced some 5,000 yards. Here the Pavia Division had established a rearguard position which was tenaciously defended but overcome after midnight by an attack made in conjunction with tanks of the 32nd Army Tank Brigade". Australia in the War of 1939-1945, Volume 3, Barton Maughan, p. 509, Australian War Memorial, 1966

^"At 3 a.m. on 14 December the guns opened a 15-minute concentration and the Maoris closed in with bayonets fixed, meeting mortar, MG and anti-tank fire and using grenades freely to overcome it. In little more than an hour resistance ended and C and D Companies began to dig in just west of the foremost defences, while A Company extended the position on lower ground to the east-north-east. B Company, which had advanced farthest, struck trouble, however, from another enemy position on the escarpment to the west and was twice counter-attacked. " The Relief of Tobruk, W. E. Murphy, p. 496, War History Branch, Department of Internal Affairs, 1961

^"The Poles and New Zealanders made good initial progress, taking several hundred Italian prisoners; but the Italians rallied well, and by noon it was clear to [General Alfred] Godwin-Austen that his two brigades lacked the weight to achieve a breakthrough on the right flank. It was the same story in the centre, where the Italians of ‘Trieste’ continued to repulse 5th Indian Brigade’s attack on Point 208. By mid-afternoon the III Corps attack had been fought to a halt all along the line."Crusader: Eighth Army’s Forgotten Victory, November 1941-January 1942, Richard Humble, p. 187, Leo Cooper, 1987

^"The Italians finished mopping up the Gazala Line on June 16, capturing 6,000 prisoners, thousands of tons of supplies, and entire convoys of undamaged vehicles in the process" The Rise of the Wehrmacht: The German Armed Forces and World War, 2 Volumes, p.564, Samuel W. Mitcham, Praeger (30 June 2008)

^"One of the night attacks was made by New Zealand troops, a Maori unit which entered and held an enemy strong point in a bayonet attack. They were later counterattacked by the Italian Pavia Division and lost a part of their gains during a severe fight under a fading moon". Aldea, David. "First Battle of El Alamein". Commando Supremo: Italy at War. Archived from the original on 29 April 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2009.

^'"While the attacking brigades had been able to cut large gaps through the defences held by the Italian infantry, they had not been able to subdue all the resistance. Not surprisingly, most of the smaller outposts and defended localities had fallen easily but some of the larger posts had been bypassed during the night. The outposts which remained contained substantial number of anti-tank guns, machine guns and infantry. When daylight came, these posts were able to cover the area south of the ridge by fire and shot up any trucks foolhardy enough to drive forward."' Pendulum Of War: Three Battles at El Alamein, Niall Barr, p. 131, Random House, 2010

^'"On the right, Indian 5th Division (XXX Corps) attacked Point 64 on the centre of the feature, the New Zealand Division (XIII Corps) was on the left attacking Point 63 at the western end of the ridge and the 1st Armoured Division gave support along the line of the inter-corps boundary. The night attack was preceded by Albacore aircraft dropping flares and fighter-bombers strafing the enemy lines. At first both divisions made good progress as they fought their way through the Italian Brescia and Pavia Divisions who were holding the ridge. The advance slowed down when they met extensive minefields and there was some loss of cohesion when the New Zealanders were attacked by tanks from 8th Panzer Regiment of 15th Panzer Division and lost 350 prisoners."' El Alamein 1942: The Turning of the Tide, Ken Ford, p. 42, Osprey Publishing, 2005

1.
Italy
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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world

2.
Kingdom of Italy
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The state was founded as a result of the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which can be considered its legal predecessor state. Italy declared war on Austria in alliance with Prussia in 1866, Italian troops entered Rome in 1870, ending more than one thousand years of Papal temporal power. Italy entered into a Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary in 1882, victory in the war gave Italy a permanent seat in the Council of the League of Nations. Fascist Italy is the era of National Fascist Party rule from 1922 to 1943 with Benito Mussolini as head of government, according to Payne, Fascist regime passed through several relatively distinct phases. The first phase was nominally a continuation of the parliamentary system, then came the second phase, the construction of the Fascist dictatorship proper from 1925 to 1929. The third phase, with activism, was 1929–34. The war itself was the phase with its disasters and defeats. Italy was allied with Nazi Germany in World War II until 1943 and it switched sides to the Allies after ousting Mussolini and shutting down the Fascist party in areas controlled by the Allied invaders. Shortly after the war, civil discontent led to the referendum of 1946 on whether Italy would remain a monarchy or become a republic. Italians decided to abandon the monarchy and form the Italian Republic, the Kingdom of Italy claimed all of the territory which is modern-day Italy. The development of the Kingdoms territory progressed under Italian re-unification until 1870, the state for a long period of time did not include Trieste or Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, which are in Italy today, and only annexed them in 1919. After the Second World War, the borders of present-day Italy were founded, the Kingdom of Italy was theoretically a constitutional monarchy. Executive power belonged to the monarch, as executed through appointed ministers, two chambers of parliament restricted the monarchs power—an appointive Senate and an elective Chamber of Deputies. The kingdoms constitution was the Statuto Albertino, the governing document of the Kingdom of Sardinia. In theory, ministers were responsible to the king. However, in practice, it was impossible for an Italian government to stay in office without the support of Parliament, members of the Chamber of Deputies were elected by plurality voting system elections in uninominal districts. A candidate needed the support of 50% of those voting, and of 25% of all enrolled voters, if not all seats were filled on the first ballot, a runoff was held shortly afterwards for the remaining vacancies. After a brief multinominal experimentation in 1882, proportional representation into large, regional, Socialists became the major party, but they were unable to form a government in a parliament split into three different factions, with Christian Populists and classical liberals

3.
Axis powers
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The Axis powers, also known as the Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, were the nations that fought in World War II against the Allied Powers. The Axis agreed on their opposition to the Allies, but did not completely coordinate their activity, the Axis grew out of the diplomatic efforts of Germany, Italy, and Japan to secure their own specific expansionist interests in the mid-1930s. The first step was the treaty signed by Germany and Italy in October 1936, Mussolini declared on 1 November that all other European countries would from then on rotate on the Rome–Berlin axis, thus creating the term Axis. The almost simultaneous second step was the signing in November 1936 of the Anti-Comintern Pact, Italy joined the Pact in 1937. At its zenith during World War II, the Axis presided over territories that occupied parts of Europe, North Africa. There were no three-way summit meetings and cooperation and coordination was minimal, the war ended in 1945 with the defeat of the Axis powers and the dissolution of their alliance. As in the case of the Allies, membership of the Axis was fluid, at the time he was seeking an alliance with the Weimar Republic against Yugoslavia and France in the dispute over the Free State of Fiume. The term was used by Hungarys prime minister Gyula Gömbös when advocating an alliance of Hungary with Germany, when Mussolini publicly announced the signing on 1 November, he proclaimed the creation of a Rome–Berlin axis. Italy under Duce Benito Mussolini had pursued an alliance of Italy with Germany against France since the early 1920s. He believed that Italy could expand its influence in Europe by allying with Germany against France, in early 1923, as a goodwill gesture to Germany, Italy secretly delivered weapons for the German Army, which had faced major disarmament under the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles. General Hans von Seeckt supported an alliance between Germany and the Soviet Union to invade and partition Poland between them and restore the German-Russian border of 1914. The discussions concluded that Germans still wanted a war of revenge against France but were short on weapons, however at this time Mussolini stressed one important condition that Italy must pursue in an alliance with Germany, that Italy must. Tow them, not be towed by them, the French government warned Italy that it had to choose whether to be on the side of the pro-Versailles powers or that of the anti-Versailles revanchists. Grandi responded that Italy would be willing to offer France support against Germany if France gave Italy its mandate over Cameroon, France refused Italys proposed exchange for support, as it believed Italys demands were unacceptable and the threat from Germany was not yet immediate. In 1932, Gyula Gömbös and the Party of National Unity rose to power in Hungary, Gömbös sought to alter Hungarys post–Treaty of Trianon borders by forming an alliance with Austria and Italy, knowing that Hungary alone was not capable of challenging the Little Entente powers. At the meeting between Gömbös and Mussolini in Rome on 10 November 1932, the question came up of the sovereignty of Austria in relation to the rise to power in Germany of the Nazi Party. Mussolini was worried about Nazi ambitions towards Austria, and indicated that at least in the term he was committed to maintaining Austria as a sovereign state. Italy had concerns over a Germany which included Austria laying land claims to German-populated territories of the South Tyrol within Italy, Mussolini said he hoped the Anschluss could be postponed as long as possible until the breakout of a European war that he estimated would begin in 1938

4.
Division (military)
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A division is a large military unit or formation, usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. Infantry divisions during the World Wars ranged between 10,000 and 30,000 in nominal strength, in most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, in turn, several divisions typically make up a corps. In the West, the first general to think of organising an army into smaller units was Maurice de Saxe, Marshal General of France. He died at the age of 54, without having implemented his idea, victor-François de Broglie put the ideas into practice. He conducted successful practical experiments of the system in the Seven Years War. The first war in which the system was used systematically was the French Revolutionary War. It made the more flexible and easy to manoeuvre. Under Napoleon, the divisions were grouped together into corps, because of their increasing size, napoleons military success spread the divisional and corps system all over Europe, by the end of the Napoleonic Wars, all armies in Europe had adopted it. In modern times, most military forces have standardized their divisional structures, the peak use of the division as the primary combat unit occurred during World War II, when the belligerents deployed over a thousand divisions. With technological advances since then, the power of each division has increased. Divisions are often formed to organize units of a particular type together with support units to allow independent operations. In more recent times, divisions have mainly been organized as combined arms units with subordinate units representing various combat arms, in this case, the division often retains the name of a more specialized division, and may still be tasked with a primary role suited to that specialization. For the most part, large cavalry units did not remain after World War II, in general, two new types of cavalry were developed, air cavalry or airmobile, relying on helicopter mobility, and armored cavalry, based on an autonomous armored formation. The former was pioneered by the 11th Air Assault Division, formed on 1 February 1963 at Fort Benning, on 29 June 1965 the division was renamed as the 1st Cavalry Division, before its departure for the Vietnam War. After the end of the Vietnam War, the 1st Cavalry Division was reorganised and re-equipped with tanks, the development of the tank during World War I prompted some nations to experiment with forming them into division-size units. Many did this the way as they did cavalry divisions, by merely replacing cavalry with AFVs. This proved unwieldy in combat, as the units had many tanks, instead, a more balanced approach was taken by adjusting the number of tank, infantry, artillery, and support units. A panzer division was a division of the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS of Germany during World War II

5.
Ravenna
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Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the city of the Western Roman Empire from 402 until that empire collapsed in 476. It then served as the capital of the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths until it was re-conquered in 540 by the Eastern Roman Empire. Afterwards, the city formed the centre of the Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna until the invasion of the Lombards in 751, although an inland city, Ravenna is connected to the Adriatic Sea by the Candiano Canal. It is known for its well-preserved late Roman and Byzantine architecture, the origin of the name Ravenna is unclear, although it is believed the name is Etruscan. Some have speculated that ravenna is related to Rasenna, the term that the Etruscans used for themselves, the origins of Ravenna are uncertain. Ravenna consisted of houses built on piles on a series of islands in a marshy lagoon – a situation similar to Venice several centuries later. The Romans ignored it during their conquest of the Po River Delta, in 49 BC, it was the location where Julius Caesar gathered his forces before crossing the Rubicon. Later, after his battle against Mark Antony in 31 BC and this harbor, protected at first by its own walls, was an important station of the Roman Imperial Fleet. Nowadays the city is landlocked, but Ravenna remained an important seaport on the Adriatic until the early Middle Ages, during the German campaigns, Thusnelda, widow of Arminius, and Marbod, King of the Marcomanni, were confined at Ravenna. Ravenna greatly prospered under Roman rule, Emperor Trajan built a 70 km long aqueduct at the beginning of the 2nd century. During the Marcomannic Wars, Germanic settlers in Ravenna revolted and managed to seize possession of the city, for this reason, Marcus Aurelius decided not only against bringing more barbarians into Italy, but even banished those who had previously been brought there. In AD402, Emperor Honorius transferred the capital of the Western Roman Empire from Milan to Ravenna, at that time it was home to 50,000 people. However, in 409, King Alaric I of the Visigoths simply bypassed Ravenna, after many vicissitudes, Galla Placidia returned to Ravenna with her son, Emperor Valentinian III and the support of her nephew Theodosius II. The late 5th century saw the dissolution of Roman authority in the west, Odoacer ruled as King of Italy for 13 years, but in 489 the Eastern Emperor Zeno sent the Ostrogoth King Theoderic the Great to re-take the Italian peninsula. After losing the Battle of Verona, Odoacer retreated to Ravenna, Theoderic took Ravenna in 493, supposedly slew Odoacer with his own hands, and Ravenna became the capital of the Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy. Both Odoacer and Theoderic and their followers were Arian Christians, but co-existed peacefully with the Latins, Ravennas Orthodox bishops carried out notable building projects, of which the sole surviving one is the Capella Arcivescovile. Theoderic allowed Roman citizens within his kingdom to be subject to Roman law, the Goths, meanwhile, lived under their own laws and customs

6.
Operation Compass
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Operation Compass was the first large Allied military operation of the Western Desert Campaign during the Second World War. British and other Commonwealth forces attacked Italian forces in western Egypt and Cyrenaica, the 10th Army was swiftly defeated and the British prolonged the operation, to pursue the remnants of the 10th Army to Beda Fomm and El Agheila on the Gulf of Sirte. The British took 138,000 Italian and Libyan prisoners, hundreds of tanks and over 1,000 guns and aircraft for a loss of 1,900 men killed and wounded, about 10 percent of their infantry. When war was declared, the 5th Army was in Tripolitania the western Libyan province, once the French in Tunisia no longer posed a threat to Tripolitania, units of the 5th Army were used to reinforce the 10th Army. When Governor-General of Libya Italo Balbo was killed by friendly fire, Graziani expressed doubts about the capabilities of the large non-mechanized force to defeat the British, who though smaller in numbers were motorised. After being reinforced from the 5th Army, the 10th Army controlled the equivalent of four corps with 150,000 infantry,1,600 guns,600 tankettes and tanks and 331 aircraft. The XX Corps had the 60th Infantry Division Sabratha and the XXI Corps had the 1st Blackshirt Division 23 Marzo, the 2nd Blackshirt Division 28 Ottobre and the 63 Infantry Division Cirene. XXII Corps had the 61st Infantry Division Sirte and XXIII Corps had the 4th Blackshirt Division 3 Gennaio, the new Group of Libyan Divisions had the Maletti Group, the 1st Libyan Division Sibelle and the 2nd Libyan Division Pescatori. The only non-infantry formation was the partially motorised and lightly armoured Maletti Group, on 29 August, as more tanks arrived from Italy, the Comando carri della Libia was formed under the command of Colonel Valentini, with three Raggruppamenti. Raggruppamento Maletti became part of the Regio Corpo Truppe Coloniali della Libia, with the 1st Libyan Division Sibelle, the Western Desert Force was commanded by Lieutenant-General Richard OConnor with the 4th Indian Infantry Division and the 7th Armoured Division. From 14 December, troops of the 6th Australian Infantry Division, replaced the 4th Indian Division, the British had some fast Cruiser Mk I, Cruiser Mk II and Cruiser Mk III tanks with Ordnance QF 2-pounder guns, which were superior to Fiat M11/39 tanks. Italy declared war on Britain and France on 10 June 1940, during the next few months there were raids and skirmishes between Italian forces in Libya and British and Commonwealth forces in Egypt. On 12 June 1940, the Mediterranean Fleet bombarded Tobruk, the force included the cruisers HMS Liverpool and HMS Gloucester also exchanged fire with the Italian cruiser San Giorgio. Royal Air Force Blenheim bombers from No,45, No.55 and No.211 squadrons, hit the San Giorgio with one bomb. On 19 June, the British submarine HMS Parthian fired two torpedoes at San Giorgio but missed, San Giorgios role was then to support the local anti-aircraft units and claimed 47 British aircraft shot down or damaged. San Giorgio also shot down the Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 aircraft carrying Italo Balbo, on 13 September 1940, the Italian 10th Army advanced into Egypt in Operazione E. As the Italians advanced, the small British force at Sollum withdrew to the defensive position east of Mersa Matruh. The Italian advance was harassed by the 3rd Coldstream Guards, attached artillery, after recapturing Fort Capuzzo, the Italians advanced approximately 95 kilometres in three days and on 16 September, the advance stopped at Maktila,16 kilometres beyond Sidi Barrani

7.
Siege of Tobruk
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In late 1940, the British had defeated the Italian 10th Army during Operation Compass and trapped the remnants at Beda Fomm. German troops and Italian reinforcements reached Libya, while much of the WDF was sent to Greece and replaced by a force, short of equipment. Operation Sonnenblume, forced the British into a retreat to the Egyptian border, a garrison was left behind at Tobruk, to deny the port to the Axis, while the WDF reorganised and prepared a counter-offensive. The siege diverted Axis troops from the frontier and the Tobruk garrison repulsed several Axis attacks, the port was frequently bombarded by artillery, dive-bombers and medium bombers, as the RAF flew defensive sorties from airfields far away in Egypt. British Mediterranean Fleet and Inshore Squadron ships ran the blockade, carrying reinforcements and supplies in and wounded, on 27 November, Tobruk was relieved by the Eighth Army, during Operation Crusader. The Western Desert Campaign was fought from Mersa Matruh in Egypt to Gazala in Cyrenaica on the Libyan coast, an area about 240 miles wide along Via Balbia along the coast, the only paved road. A sand sea 150 miles inland marked the limit of the desert. Extending inland from the coast lies a raised, flat plain of stony desert, about 150 metres above sea level, scorpions, vipers and flies populated the region, which was inhabited by a small number of nomads. Bedouin tracks linked wells and the more easily traversed ground, navigation was by sun, star, compass and desert sense, good perception of the environment gained by experience. German engines tended to overheat and tank engine life fell from 1, 400–1,600 miles to 300–900 miles, at Tobruk, the ground was a hard surface which dropped to sea level in steps, with the coast cut by ravines. The Italian defences were a double semi-circle of concrete posts, placed for good observation, closer to the port, at the Bardia–El Adem road junction and towards Fort Pilastrino, more defended localities had been built. On the morning of 5 January 1941, as soon as the 63rd Infantry Division Cirene garrisoning Bardia, surrendered, the 19th Australian Brigade Group reached the eastern defences of Tobruk on 7 January and the 16th Australian Brigade Group took over on the west side. The 17th Australian Brigade and the Support Group were to stage diversions either side of the attack, sandstorms blew up and grounded the RAF for much of the time but raids were carried out on Tobruk and the Italian bomber bases at Benina and Berka. After an hour, the 16th Australian Brigade and 18 infantry tanks broke through 1-mile deep on a 1-mile front, against patchy resistance. As the 16th Australian Brigade fanned out at 8,40 a. m. the 19th Australian Brigade advanced north, behind an artillery barrage and counter-battery fire on the Italian artillery. On the left the Australians were counter-attacked by seven tanks and infantry behind an artillery barrage, which was driven off by the Australians, two anti-tank guns and two infantry tanks. More resistance was met near Pilastrino, which held out until 9,30 p. m. the 2/8th Australian Battalion had marched 20 miles since the morning, fighting for 5 miles and lost 100 casualties. During the day Blenheims of 55 and 113 squadrons flew 56 sorties against Tobruk, half of the Tobruk area had been captured by nightfall and the Italians began demolitions at the harbour

8.
Battle of Gazala
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The Battle of Gazala was fought during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, west of the port of Tobruk in Libya, from 26 May to 21 June 1942. Axis troops of the Panzerarmee Afrika, consisted of German and Italian units, Allied forces, were mainly British, Indian, South African and Free French. The Axis distracted the British with an attack in the north. The advance succeeded, but the defence of the French garrison of Bir Hakeim, at the end of the line, left the Axis with a long. The Eighth Army counter-attack, Operation Aberdeen, was poorly co-ordinated and defeated in detail, many tanks were lost, the British withdrew from the Gazala Line and the Axis troops overran Tobruk in a day. Rommel exploited the success by pursuing the British into Egypt, denying them time to recover from the defeat, as both sides neared exhaustion, the Eighth Army managed to check the Axis advance at the First Battle of El Alamein. The battle is considered the greatest victory of Rommels career, but Operation Herkules, the British managed to supply Malta and revived it as a base for attacks on Axis convoys to Libya, greatly complicating Axis supply difficulties at El Alamein. Following Operation Crusader, in late 1941, the British Eighth Army had relieved Tobruk, in an appreciation made in January 1942, Auchinleck alluded to an Axis fighting strength of 35,000 men, when the true figure was about 80,000. The Eighth Army expected to be ready by February and GHQ Cairo believed that the Axis would be too weak, on 21 January, Rommel sent out three strong armoured columns to make a tactical reconnaissance. Finding only the thinnest of screens, Rommel changed his reconnaissance into an offensive, recaptured Benghazi on 28 January and Timimi on 3 February. By 6 February, the British had fallen back to a line from Gazala to Bir Hakeim, the British had 1,309 casualties from 21 January, lost 42 tanks knocked out, another 30 through damage and breakdowns and 40 field guns. Between Gazala and Timimi, just west of Tobruk, the Eighth Army was able to concentrate its forces sufficiently to turn and fight. The Gazala Line was a series of defensive boxes accommodating a brigade each, laid out across the desert behind minefields and wire, watched by regular patrols between the boxes. The Free French were to the south at the Bir Hakeim box,21 km south of the 150th Infantry Brigade box, which was 9.7 km south of the 69th Infantry Brigade box. Behind the Gazala Line were defensive boxes known as Commonwealth Keep or Hill 209 at Ras El Madauur on Tobruks main defensive line, Acroma, Knightsbridge,19 km south of Acroma and El Adem, sited to block tracks and junctions. A box at Retma was finished just before the Axis offensive, the British received new equipment, including 167 Lend-Lease M3 Grant tanks equipped with 75 mm guns, and large numbers of 6-pounder anti-tank guns. Rommel thought that Allied minefields ended well north of Bir Hakeim, Army commanders lost the power to direct air operations, which was reserved for the air commanders. A new fighter-bomber concept was developed and Air Vice-Marshal Arthur Coningham, commander of the DAF, moved his headquarters to the Eighth Army HQ to improve communication

9.
Operation Crusader
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Operation Crusader was a military operation by the British Eighth Army between 18 November–30 December 1941 in North Africa during the Second World War. The operation relieved the 1941 Siege of Tobruk, Rommel had to withdraw his armoured units to support the fighting at Tobruk. It was the first victory over the German ground forces by British-led forces in the Second World War, following the costly failure of Operation Battleaxe, General Archibald Wavell was relieved as Commander-in-Chief Middle East Command and replaced by General Claude Auchinleck. The Western Desert Force was reorganised and renamed the Eighth Army under the command of Lieutenant-General Alan Cunningham replaced by Lieutenant-General Neil Ritchie, the Eighth Army comprised two Corps, XXX Corps under Lieutenant-General Willoughby Norrie and XIII Corps under Lieutenant-General Reade Godwin-Austen. XXX Corps was made up of 7th Armoured Division, the understrength South African 1st Infantry Division with two brigades of the Sudan Defence Force and the independent 22nd Guards Brigade. XIII Corps comprised 4th Indian Infantry Division, the newly arrived 2nd New Zealand Division, the Australian Major-General Leslie Morshead had been succeeded as Allied commander at Tobruk by the British Major-General Ronald Scobie. However, by November, the Australian 20th Brigade remained in Tobruk, in reserve, the Eighth Army had the South African 2nd Infantry Division, making a total equivalent of about 7 divisions with 770 tanks. Directly under the Italian High Command, remained Italian XX Corps, the Italian XX Corps under Lieutenant General Gastone Gambara with 132nd Armoured Division Ariete with 146 medium tanks M13/40 and 101st Motorised Division Trieste. The Axis forces had built a line of strong points along the escarpment running from near the sea at Bardia and Sollum. Axis initial air support consisted of about 120 German and 200 Italian serviceable aeroplanes but these could be reinforced quickly by transfer of units from Greece, a German motorised division needed 360 tonnes per day and moving the supplies 480 kilometres took 1,1702. 0-tonne lorries. With seven Axis divisions, air and naval units,71,000 tonnes of supplies per month were needed. From February–May 1941, a surplus of 46,000 tonnes was delivered, attacks from Malta had some effect but in May, lack of transport in Libya left German supplies in Tripoli and the Italians had only 7,000 lorries for deliveries to 225,000 men. A record amount of supplies arrived in June but at the front, in November a five-ship convoy was sunk during Operation Crusader and ground attacks on road convoys stopped journeys in daylight. Lack of deliveries and the Eighth Army offensive forced a retreat to El Agheila from 4 December, crowding the Via Balbia, where British ambushes destroyed about half of the remaining Axis transport. Convoys to Tripoli resumed and sinkings increased but by 16 December, the situation had eased, except for the fuel shortage and in December. The Vichy French sold 3,700 tonnes of fuel, U-boats were ordered into the Mediterranean, the Italian navy used warships to carry fuel to Derna and Benghazi, then made a maximum effort from 16–17 December. Four battleships, three cruisers and 20 destroyers escorted four ships to Libya. The use of an armada for 20,000 tonnes of cargo ships depleted the navy fuel reserve, bizerta in Tunisia was canvassed as an entrepôt but this was in range of RAF aircraft from Malta and was another 800 kilometres west of Tripoli

10.
Second Battle of El Alamein
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The Second Battle of El Alamein was a decisive battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian railway halt of El Alamein. With the Allies victorious, it marked the watershed of the Western Desert Campaign, the First Battle of El Alamein had prevented the Axis from advancing further into Egypt. The British victory turned the tide in the North African Campaign and ended the Axis threat to Egypt, the Suez Canal, the Second Battle of El Alamein revived the morale of the Allies, being the first big success against the Axis since Operation Crusader in late 1941. The battle coincided with the Allied invasion of French North Africa in Operation Torch, which started on 8 November, as well as the Battle of Stalingrad and this threatened the British Empires control of the Suez Canal and Mandatory Palestine. General Claude Auchinleck withdrew the Eighth Army to within 80 kilometres of Alexandria to a point where the Qattara Depression came to within 64 kilometres of El Alamein on the coast. This gave the defenders a short front to defend and provided secure flanks because tanks could not traverse the Depression, the Axis advance was halted here in early July in the First Battle of El Alamein. The Eighth Army counter-offensives during July failed, as Rommel had dug in to allow his troops to regroup. Auchinleck called off all offensive action at the end of July to allow rebuilding the Eighth Armys strength. The attack failed in this battle at the Alamein line, better known as the Battle of Alam el Halfa, expecting a counter-attack by Montgomerys Eighth Army. The factors that had favoured the Eighth Armys defensive plan in the First Battle of El Alamein, the front line. Rommel, furthermore, had plenty of time to prepare his defensive positions and lay extensive minefields, Alexander and Montgomery were determined to establish a superiority of forces sufficient not only to achieve a breakthrough but also to exploit it and destroy Panzer Army Africa. The British had an advantage, signals intelligence from Ultra and local sources, exposed the Axis order of battle, its supply position, force disposition. A reorganisation of the function in Africa in July had also improved the integration of intelligence received from all sources. With rare exceptions, intelligence identified the ships destined for North Africa, their location or routing and in most cases their cargoes. By 25 October, Panzer Army fuel stocks were down to three days supply, of only two days worth were east of Tobruk. Did not possess the operational freedom of movement that was essential in consideration of the fact that the British offensive can be expected to start any day. Submarine and air transport somewhat eased the shortage of ammunition and by late October, after six more weeks, the Eighth Army was ready,195,000 men and 1,029 tanks began the offensive against the 116,000 men and 547 tanks of Panzer Army Africa. Montgomerys plan was for an attack to the north of the line

11.
Infantry
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Infantry is the general branch of an army that engages in military combat on foot. As the troops who engage with the enemy in close-ranged combat, infantry units bear the largest brunt of warfare, Infantry can enter and maneuver in terrain that is inaccessible to military vehicles and employ crew-served infantry weapons that provide greater and more sustained firepower. In English, the 16th-century term Infantry describes soldiers who walk to the battlefield, and there engage, fight, the term arose in Sixteenth-Century Spain, which boasted one of the first professional standing armies seen in Europe since the days of Rome. It was common to appoint royal princes to military commands, and the men under them became known as Infanteria. in the Canadian Army, the role of the infantry is to close with, and destroy the enemy. In the U. S. Army, the closes with the enemy, by means of fire and maneuver, in order to destroy or capture him, or to repel his assault by fire, close combat. In the U. S. Marine Corps, the role of the infantry is to locate, close with, and destroy the enemy fire and maneuver. Beginning with the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century, artillery has become a dominant force on the battlefield. Since World War I, combat aircraft and armoured vehicles have become dominant. In 20th and 21st century warfare, infantry functions most effectively as part of a combined arms team including artillery, armour, Infantry relies on organized formations to be employed in battle. These have evolved over time, but remain a key element to effective infantry development and deployment, until the end of the 19th century, infantry units were for the most part employed in close formations up until contact with the enemy. This allowed commanders to control of the unit, especially while maneuvering. The development of guns and other weapons with increased firepower forced infantry units to disperse in order to make them less vulnerable to such weapons. This decentralization of command was made possible by improved communications equipment, among the various subtypes of infantry is Medium infantry. This refers to infantry which are heavily armed and armored than heavy infantry. In the early period, medium infantry were largely eliminated due to discontinued use of body armour up until the 20th century. In the United States Army, Stryker Infantry is considered Medium Infantry, since they are heavier than light infantry, Infantry doctrine is the concise expression of how infantry forces contribute to campaigns, major operations, battles, and engagements. It is a guide to action, not a set of hard, doctrine provides a very common frame of reference across the military forces, allowing the infantry to function cooperatively in what are now called combined arms operations. Doctrine helps standardise operations, facilitating readiness by establishing common ways of accomplishing infantry tasks, doctrine links theory, history, experimentation, and practice

12.
Libya
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The three traditional parts of the country are Tripolitania, Fezzan and Cyrenaica. With an area of almost 1.8 million square kilometres, Libya is the fourth largest country in Africa, Libya has the 10th-largest proven oil reserves of any country in the world. The largest city and capital, Tripoli, is located in western Libya, the other large city is Benghazi, which is located in eastern Libya. Libya has been inhabited by Berbers since the late Bronze Age, the Phoenicians established trading posts in western Libya, and ancient Greek colonists established city-states in eastern Libya. Libya was variously ruled by Carthaginians, Persians, Egyptians and Greeks before becoming a part of the Roman Empire, Libya was an early center of Christianity. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the area of Libya was mostly occupied by the Vandals until the 7th century, in the 16th century, the Spanish Empire and the Knights of St John occupied Tripoli, until Ottoman rule began in 1551. Libya was involved in the Barbary Wars of the 18th and 19th centuries, Ottoman rule continued until the Italian occupation of Libya resulted in the temporary Italian Libya colony from 1911 to 1943. During the Second World War Libya was an important area of warfare in the North African Campaign, the Italian population then went into decline. Libya became an independent kingdom in 1951, a military coup in 1969 overthrew King Idris I, beginning a period of sweeping social reform. Since then, Libya has experienced a period of instability, the European Union is involved in an operation to disrupt human trafficking networks exploiting refugees fleeing from wars in Africa for Europe. At least two political bodies claim to be the government of Libya, the Council of Deputies is internationally recognized as the legitimate government, but it does not hold territory in the capital, Tripoli, instead meeting in the Cyrenaica city of Tobruk. Parts of Libya are outside of either governments control, with various Islamist, rebel, the United Nations is sponsoring peace talks between the Tobruk and Tripoli-based factions. An agreement to form an interim government was signed on 17 December 2015. Under the terms of the agreement, a nine-member Presidency Council, the leaders of the new government, called the Government of National Accord, arrived in Tripoli on 5 April 2016. Since then the GNC, one of the two governments, has disbanded to support the new GNA. The name Libya was introduced in 1934 for Italian Libya, reviving the name for Northwest Africa. The name was based on use in 1903 by Italian geographer Federico Minutilli. It was intended to supplant terms applied to Ottoman Tripolitania, the region of what is today Libya having been ruled by the Ottoman Empire from 1551 to 1911

The signing of the Tripartite Pact by Germany, Japan, and Italy on 27 September 1940 in Berlin. Seated from left to right are the Japanese ambassador to Germany Saburō Kurusu, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Galeazzo Ciano, and Adolf Hitler.